8 Weird Reasons You’re Overeating

Researchers have been studying the obesity epidemic in North America for years. And they still haven’t found out why some people consistently over eat. But they have found some pretty weird reasons why many of us simply can’t put the fork down.

1. You’re eating too many muffins for breakfast

Turns out the term “muffin top” has some scientific validity. People who eat too many of those delicious muffins, which are nothing more than cakes wrapped up in muffin packaging, do not stay full because of the poor quality carbohydrates and lack of protein. Eating a muffin that packs as much as 700 calories yet makes you feel hungry an hour is a recipe for disaster.

2. Eating Reese’s Pieces instead of Hershey’s Kisses

One study found that the act of unwrapping a Hershey’s Kiss was enough to prevent people from eating as many pieces of candy compared to their “naked” counterparts like M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces. Are we really that lazy? Apparently yes.

3. You’re a fan of the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, or Dallas Cowboys

Psychologists found that fans of losing teams turned to unhealthy foods and snacks to drown their sorrows. That means if you’re a fan of perennial losers like the Browns and Clippers, you might want to skip the games if you’re looking to drop a few pounds.

4. You’re a night owl

Being awake longer means there’s more time to eat. In addition, researchers have found that staying up too late causes your body’s internal clock to get messed up, which leads to cravings for sweet and salty snacks.

5. You overestimate that 30-minute walk

A study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine found that people overestimated the calories they burned while exercising. And it wasn’t a small overestimation of a few calories. People overshot the mark by 3-4 times the amount. So just remember that the 30-minute walk probably burned about ½ bagel’s worth of calories.

6. Eating Lunch in the afternoon

Pushing meals back causes us to eat later in the evening when we are more sedentary. It’s best to eat earlier in the day when we’re more likely to be up moving around.

7. You drink diet soda

While it seems like a smart move to switch from regular soda to diet soda, it commonly backfires. Several studies have shown that people who consume diet soda on a daily basis are twice as likely to be obese or overweight.

8. You’re stressed

A little stress is fine, but people who are consistently stressed out are far more likely to have weight problems caused by overeating. Stress chemicals such as cortisol actually trigger the body into believing it’s hungry causing you to eat when you don’t need to.

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